Question about the ending of EoE

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DarkSoul01
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Question about the ending of EoE

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Postby DarkSoul01 » Fri Aug 25, 2017 12:15 am

I recently finished EoE and i have a question about the end

Can someone explained to me why Asuka's the only one that returns in the end after Shinji refused instrumentality ? Or she's just the first one ?

If she's the only one .. It means that Shinji and Asuka are the new Adam and Eve ?

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Re: Question about the ending of EoE

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Postby pwhodges » Fri Aug 25, 2017 12:41 am

She's the first - we've been told that anyone can return. It's not clear where people may return, and it's also implied that there was an interval between Shinji's return and Asuka's (rust on the cross from the nail is used as the justification for that - but OTOH Shinji shows little sign of the effects of time).

Bagheera's post-EoE story Ghosts of Evangelion (discussion here) is an example of one which has people returning after an interval and then over a long period (and some not at all).
"Being human, having your health; that's what's important." (from: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi )
"As long as we're all living, and as long as we're all having fun, that should do it, right?" (from: The Eccentric Family )
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Re: Question about the ending of EoE

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Postby DarkSoul01 » Fri Aug 25, 2017 2:43 am

View Original Postpwhodges wrote:She's the first - we've been told that anyone can return. It's not clear where people may return, and it's also implied that there was an interval between Shinji's return and Asuka's (rust on the cross from the nail is used as the justification for that - but OTOH Shinji shows little sign of the effects of time).

Bagheera's post-EoE story Ghosts of Evangelion (discussion here) is an example of one which has people returning after an interval and then over a long period (and some not at all).

Is this from director or fan ?

What's most important things that happened in GoE ?

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Re: Question about the ending of EoE

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Postby Cybermat47 » Fri Aug 25, 2017 2:45 am

View Original PostDarkSoul01 wrote:Is this from director or fan ?


A fan.

What's most important things that happened in GoE ?


Read it and find out :wink:
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Re: Question about the ending of EoE

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Postby pwhodges » Fri Aug 25, 2017 4:05 am

View Original PostDarkSoul01 wrote:Is this from director or fan ?

A fan, the fourth most prolific poster here, recently banned.

What's most important things that happened in GoE ?

It's a wide-ranging examination of Asuka's and Shinji's relationship for the rest of their lives (including a child and their deaths in old age), how they processed their PTSD, and how it affected their relationships with others who returned at various times.
"Being human, having your health; that's what's important." (from: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi )
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Re: Question about the ending of EoE

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Postby Asuka'sBigBrother » Sat Oct 21, 2017 12:16 am

View Original PostDarkSoul01 wrote:If she's the only one .. It means that Shinji and Asuka are the new Adam and Eve ?

No, the show explicitly states everyone can come back and we're shown all the crosses that turned everything into juice going away.

Asuka and Shinji are alone on the beach because

A. (Out of Universe Reason) It's a pivotal scene regarding there relationship which nobody wanted distractions for

B. (in Universe-Reason) Asuka and Shinji are the only ones who "died" on that beach. Everyone else was killed somewhere else and hence would be "reborn" somewhere else.

It really bothers me people have stretched this to somehow be proof of a scenario that the show explicitly tells us does not apply to the NGE world.
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Re: Question about the ending of EoE

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Postby StrokeMeGoat » Sun Oct 22, 2017 9:35 am

View Original PostDarkSoul01 wrote:Can someone explained to me why Asuka's the only one that returns in the end after Shinji refused instrumentality ? Or she's just the first one ?

Based on Yui's parting statements to Shinji, it's being strongly implied others will eventually return. To help clarify why this is so, it;s fairly important to keep in mind that the Japanese word for heart, "kokoro" carries much more meaning with it than it does in English (even when taking into account that we use it to both mean the organ and a more nebulous concept tied to our emotions, desires, will, and feelings). Kokoro isn't only used to refer to the heart but also the soul and even a more unified concept of the body, spirit, and mind.

So, when it's said (in NGE, I mean) that other people can return if they have the will to live and that their heart will shape the form that they take, the meaning of the word "heart" in this case is more or less referring to a person's ego and even the essence of their being itself. It's not just mentioned that people's hearts give them form at the end of EOE either, it's mentioned a few times. If you really think about what's being said, the poorly defined concept of the heart and how it supposedly gives human beings their form begins to make more sense on an intuitive level. As I said, in NGE in particular, it's used more specifically to refer to something like the ego or essence of somebody's existence, but really that's not too far off the mark from what kokoro is described to mean in Japanese.


View Original PostDarkSoul01 wrote:It means that Shinji and Asuka are the new Adam and Eve ?


I'm certain that was a parallel Anno was trying to draw there given the imagery is so iconic and fitting with the actual plot of the story. I really doubt it's meant to be that literal of an Adam and Eve scenario at the end though, as I already said. The imagery is highly evocative and is easily understood on a deep and fundamental unconscious level by most anybody even remotely familiar with the Bible or the story of Genesis (and for that matter, Revelations). The significance isn't just understood after consciously recognizing the parallel, acknowledging that recognition, and digesting that understanding with language based thoughts. Instead, the significance is felt (which, the proper utilization of this phenomenon is the mark of a highly competent artist/creator, imo). That instant, emotional understanding of such a situation helps solidify and reinforce the magnitude, weight, and reality of the cataclysmic, apocalyptic event that just occurred and how alone the two of them, especially Shinji (considering if you pay attention to the cycle of the moon during Third Impact and where it's at when Asuka appears next to Shinji on the beach, at the very least 3 or so weeks have passed), really are. Everyone really died, and they're the only one's not divine in nature (a la floating Quantum Rei) that exist on the Earth at that point in time.

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Re: Question about the ending of EoE

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Postby Asuka'sBigBrother » Mon Oct 23, 2017 3:22 am

really doubt it's meant to be that literal of an Adam and Eve scenario at the end though, as I already said.

:thumbsup:
The Adam and Eve theory is nonsense because:
the show explicitly states everyone can come back and we're shown all the crosses that turned everything into juice going away.


Furthermore, it wouldn't make any sense for Shinji and Asuka to be the new doers of god when the prior scene essentially has Shinji rejecting the idea of the divine.

Again, the reasons why only Shinji and Asuka are on the beach is because

A. they're the two central characters of the show and their relationship is the specific focus of the show's final scene

B. They're the only people who "died" on that beach. Everyone else died elsewhere so they presumably came back to life, elsewhere.
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Re: Question about the ending of EoE

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Postby RamielBestGirl » Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:58 pm

Also, C. Other people could come back later, given that there was an interval between Shinji's return and Asuka's. For another in-universe reason it's also entirely possible that Shinji and Asuka are the only people alive on Earth at that moment but that others will come later, even if it's on other continents.


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